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He Makes Me Lie Down

I caught up with a friend in the hospital a few months ago. He’s a successful entrepreneur with a beautiful wife and three lovely children. He was in the hospital because of a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot to the lungs, and had been “four hours from dying” when he checked in to the ER according to his doctor.

Now this is a healthy guy. At 50, he’s trim, the proper weight for his height and an all-round ruggedly handsome fellow who seems at the top of his game. This “wake up call” came at a real turning point in his life, as well – read “worst possible timing”. He was in the middle of shutting down one business and opening a new venture.

While visiting with my friend and his parents in that hospital room I felt a “nudge” to give him a verse from Psalm 23 and I encouraged him to “listen” and “rest” and “hear” what the Lord was trying to say.

When this kind of thing happens in a “busy life”, I’m reminded of what King David said in Psalm 23. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” There is something in that “makes me lie down” thought that really strikes me. One Bible teacher jokingly put it, “and sometimes He has to break your legs.” It’s a picture of a loving, but firm, shepherd – disciplining his sheep. Carefully and lovingly showing who’s in charge and obviously seeing the bigger picture.

We live our lives on in a fast-paced world where I think it must be difficult, at times, for the Lord to get our attention. But, when “he makes me lie down”, He has my full attention and I’m all ears!

But there’s more! The next day my friend’s Mom went out to a store to pick up some things and as she walked in she saw a little, hand-painted sign, prominently displayed, with that exact verse from Ps. 23:2-3. She bought it, of course, and took it back to the hospital. He was so excited for the confirmation that he sent me a picture of him holding the sign in his hospital room. But, the story doesn’t end here. On the following day, when he was home from the hospital, tired and sore but on the road to recovery – he opened up his iPad to read his “daily verse” and you probably already know by now what verse came up for day’s reading – Ps. 23: 2-3!

Three days in a row or three persons, as my friend says, “The Father, Son and Holy Spirit really wanted me to get that!”